Bed-bound elderly patients wait in over-crowded hospital corridor in shocking pic which lays bare NHS crisis

ELDERLY patients wait on a row of trolleys in a crowded corridor in a picture that lays bare the deep crisis facing NHS hospital A&Es.

Around 15 were wheeled there because the department’s bed bays were all full — an increasing problem nationwide, says the Royal College of Nursing.

Carer Samantha Howes, 38, met with the “disturbing” sight at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, where she had taken her daughter with suspected appendicitis.

The mum of two said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. It makes you emotional.

“I went to get a drink but couldn’t make it all the way because it was just so overwhelming. It was very distressing to walk past.

“If you’re not being seen you’re just left there.

“A lot of these elderly folk looked fearful and confused. Some were being treated as people walked past. A few had their legs sticking out. Where’s the dignity in that?”

Scenes like this are being repeated daily in hospitals across the UK

Patricia MarquisRoyal College of Nursing

Patients are kept on trolley beds in corridors when all the bed bays in an A&E unit or ward are full.

More than 13,000 out of 100,000 hospital beds in England are taken up by people who are fit to go home but cannot leave until they get proper care arrangements.

This means many new patients arriving at A&E wait hours or days before they get a proper bed – while some never get one at all.

The problem is so bad that one hospital in London has even advertised specifically for a “corridor nurse”.

Samantha added: “Only one nurse was looking after 15 or so patients in that corridor and it wasn’t the only one like that.

“There were sick people everywhere. Even the children’s A&E waiting room was full.

“I feel for the nurses. They’re overworked and stressed. But it’s disgusting that people must wait in these conditions.”

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust apologised for the delays, blaming “high demand”.

A spokesperson said: “We apologise to all patients who are experiencing long waits in our emergency departments.

“While we do all we can to ensure those who need it receive timely care, our emergency departments are experiencing high levels of demand this winter.

“This is the case for many services across the NHS.”

Patricia Marquis, of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Scenes like this are being repeated daily in hospitals across the UK.

“It is undignified, unsafe and normalised all year round.

“It is a symptom of a failure to invest in the NHS.”

Research shows that patients are more likely to die within a month if they spend more than half a day waiting in A&E.

There were 43,000 12-hour A&E waits a month on average last year compared with 8,272 for the whole of 2019.

More than 13,000 out of 100,000 hospital beds in England are blocked by people fit to go home but who cannot until proper care is arranged.

A Royal College of Nursing poll of 5,000 frontline staff found two-thirds treat patients in non-medical areas every day.

Offices, cupboards and car parks are being used.

Patients are dying in waiting rooms and public areas due to delays.

RCN general secretary Nicola Ranger said: “The scale of this is absolutely the worst it has ever been.”

Analysis found Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was the worst in England for emergency waits.